Sunday, June 29, 2008

Can I just tell you guys as a reader the Cheerleaders are FABULOUS!!! I feel so inspired!! :) I really think the cheerleaders make this 'thon different from all the other activities we do. I think people cheering really help build a sense of community!! So way to go Cheerleaders!!

Also - I have so enjoyed working with you guys!! :) You have made organization easy!!!

Hello Cheerleaders!! The day is here!! Time for 24-hours of reading with some cheering! I wanted to give you a list of prizes for the mini-challenges from Dewey & Hanna:

Here is a tentative list of which prizes will go for which hours/events. So here's the schedule, and PLEASE tell me if you think anything has too big or small a prize, if you had something else in mind, etc.

Also we are going to leave all of these mini-challenges open for 2 hours- please us me know (Darcie, Dewey & Hanna) if you think this is too long or too short and we'll adjust! Also if we don't have the right prizes listed let us know. Please let me know if there are any discrepancies - I struggled a little bit with the time changes or if you wanted to host a mini-challenge and aren't on the list (we still have some openings).

How it will work today Mini-ChallengesDewey will announce the mini-challenges on her blog which will send readers to your blog. So you might want to post the challenge 30 minutes before the challenge starts. You might consider putting it as a sticky post if you are doing other updates along the way. Also, if you could email Dewey the specific link (i.e. click on your challenge title and email Dewey your link with the title MINI-CHALLENGE HOUR [with your hour] this will give Dewey a chance to maximize her reading time. :) Readers should leave posts on your site linking to their mini-challenge post. Dewey will use a random generator to pick the winner of the challenge, she will put the winner on her blog and you can pull that name over and announce it on your blog too. If for some reason you want to pick the winner because it's a "best" challenge please let Dewey know when you send her your link.

How it will work today CheerleadingWhen you are ready to cheer just go to Reney's list of participants to see the read-a-thon participates and comment, comment, comment! :) I haven't put anyone into specific cheer times so you could cheer when you want, but if you are up I am sure that people will need cheerleading in the wee hours of the morning!! :) Also it seems like in the last 2 days the cheerleader list went from 5 - 12! (Please forgive me if I haven't left a comment for you yet! I will try to get on your blogs today!)

Issues, Suggestions, Questions or Cheerleader NotesIf you have any issues, suggestions, questions or notes for other Cheerleaders please go to the cheerleader blog and leave a message here - there is a link list on the left to make it easier to find.

Also - Dewey is hosting MANY challenges so pop over to her site to check them out!!Don't forget to leave people comments cheering them on!! :) Have a great day!!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Welcome Read-a-thon Cheerleaders!! As you know Dewey is hosting a 24 Hour Read-a-thon on June 28. Thanks for signing up to be a cheerleader!! The day/night promises to be great! This blog will keep us updated before the Read-a-thon and during the "thon." Please feel free to email me (darcie.brand at yahoo dot com or post a comment here!

Cheerleaders from last year - I would love your comments on your Cheering experience - what you thought worked well, what you probably wouldn't do again. What you think can be done to improve the overall cheering experience!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

With the read-a-thon just a few days away I wanted to mention a couple of things:

1) We still have a lot of gaps in the mini-challenge schedule so let me know if you are interested in hosting a mini-challenge please let me know as soon as possible or if you don't have a time set please give me some times that you are interested. My email is darciebrand [at] yahoo [dot] com. If I don't answer you please let me know - some of the emails have been going to spam, but I have] been watching it.

2) We still need some cheerleaders (mini-challenge is not required) so if you know if anyone on the fence let them know. :)

3) Dewey has a great 14 book give-away for people who are promoting the read-a-thon, so you might want to check that out since most of us are doing this anyway! :)

4) Reney has set up a list of links of people in the read-a-thon.

5) I wanted to set up a site where we all could post things that are happening during the read-a-thon, but my original idea didn't work (letting people post to this site as posters - no just commenter's). So right now I will set up some categories like Issues - Questions - Other for people to post comments to if they are having issues - please feel free to post or respond as you would like!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I just want to clarify if you don't want to do a mini-challenge that is ok. Just let me know what hours you would like to cheer people on and I will add it to the list!! We will take all the help we can get!! And we are flexible so just let me know what you want to do and when you want to do it!! :) Thanks!

What is a Mini-Challenge?A mini-challenge is a 1-3 hour challenge that asks Read-a-thon participants to perform a task that is posted on their blog. Participants may or may not participate in the challenge. These usually have a prize associated with it, but sometimes just have the happiness of winning as the prize. These are intended to give readers a break from reading their current book to help encourage them to read longer. We want to help readers have more fun while they are reading!

There are three ways you can set up your mini-challenge.

You can come up with a mini-challenge for all Readers to do. Probably not all Readers will do it, but it'll be open to them all. If you want to do this type, you should post the challenge at your blog (if you have one) and Dewey will link to you that hour. If you don't have a blog, She’ll post your challenge in her blog.

You can draw one name (or just pick a name that appeals to you from the Readers Blogroll) and give that person an individual mini-challenge. If you have a blog, post the mini-challenge there and link to the Reader, so that others will know to go and see how the Reader tackles it. I'll also post this in my blog, so that other Readers taking breaks can go watch the fun.

Same as above, only you can pick more than one name. Now, as far as what you want your mini-challenge to be, that's up to you. If you're stuck for ideas, or you want someone to bounce your ideas off, feel free to email me and I'll try to help.

For any cheerleaders who have mini-challenge ideas here is what I need to know:

Title & Description of your mini-challenge. This is so when I am scheduling I can schedule ones that people need to go out for during "waking hours" and also make sure 2 of the same challenges are not back to back.

If you are giving away a prize or if you would like a prize selected from the "prize vault".

How many hours you would like your challenge to stay open.

If you have a time preference to when the mini-challenge is done (please give me 3 options - this will be first come first serve - I will have a master list of the assignments) and if not what hours you are planning to be up for and I will assign you. We will want to really stack the mini-challenges in the last hours as an incentive for people to stay awake.

If you want to host a mini-challenge or don't want to host more than 1 mini-challenge but have more than I idea please let me know. Depending on the number of mini-challenges we have we may want to have additional mini-challenges hosted by Dewey or myself or might have some cheerleader who is having "challenge block" .

Also if you haven't sent me yet can you please send me your email address. Mine is

DarcieBrand [at] yahoo [dot] com

Also let me know if you just want to cheer people on but don't want to host a mini-challenge. :) We need all the encouragement that we can get!! Thanks so much for your participation it would not be such a great challenge without all your great spirits!

Here are some Mini-Challenge Ideas that were used in the October 2007 Read-a-thon:

All you have to do to enter the contest and have a chance to win a copy of Matrimony (autographed, of course) is post in your blog, emailing the blurb to Henkin, about the book. When you post your contest entry in your blog, it’d be great if you’d also tell your readers about the contest. I know, I know, that’ll just give you more competition, but this is a really great book and I’d like to spread the word about it.Henkin’s email address ...

Go to Wikipedia and look up the place where your book is set. If it’s a fictional setting, that’s ok, too! Post five interesting facts about that place in your blog. Leave a comment letting me know. I will draw one name from among those who participate, at noon my time, which is in four hours. If that person uses bookmooch, he or she gets one of my points. If that person does not use bookmooch, he or she gets to pick a bookmooch charity to have me donate the point.

This hour, we have two Readers of the Hour. These are readers that I would like everyone — cheerleaders, Readers taking breaks, any other willing visitor, etc. — to visit. Don’t forget to leave them comments! After you visit, post a short blurb in your blog saying what those two readers are up to, and comment here letting me know you’ve done that. I will draw a name from those who have participated, and the winner gets a Future Book from me. What this means is that in the future, any book I review that is NOT a library book, you get to ask for it, and it’s yours! You don’t have to be a Read-a-thon Reader or Cheerleader to win! This mini-challenge is only open for Hour 3, which ends at 5pm GMT.

Sarah’s a translator, and she would like readers to stop what they’re reading and start reading a book in another language! If you don’t have any books in other languages in your house, then visit Sarah’s post for a list of online books you could try reading. I know it’s hard, but be brave! Maybe even try reading something in a language you don’t know at all. What words do you recognize? Can you tell what’s going on? The reward for this challenging challenge is enticing! One participant (randomly chosen) will win a $20 Amazon gift certificate, donated by Sarah.

Take a break from reading and post a little bit about what you are reading. Some of you might know that I'm a librarian. One of the things I'm interested in professionally is reader's advisory. So, post a little bit about what you are reading and who you think might enjoy the book. Tell us what book is similar to what you are reading or which other author is similar to the author of your book.

To participate, take a break from whatever you’re reading and find a short story to read. Then review the story in your blog. On Monday, head on over to Book-a-rama and post the link to your story review on Chris’ Short Story Monday post. No Read-a-thon prize this time, sorry! Your prize is getting to be part of the coolness that is Short Story Monday!

This hour’s mini-challenge is to stop reading and write a letter to the author of the book you’re currently reading, and post it in your blog. If you decide to send the letter later, that’s up to you! If you participate in this mini-challenge, leave me a comment and your name will be put into a drawing for a Future Book. I know I keep saying this, but that means that any time I review a book that interests you in the future, you get to ask for it, and if it’s not a library book, it’s yours! This challenge is open until Hour 14.

This hour’s mini-challenge: Stop! Go outside and take a walk! The prize is that you will be glad you did.

This hour’s mini-challenge is to fill out and post in your blog my mid-event survey. Leave a comment letting me know you’ve taken the survey, and your name will be put into a drawing to win a Kajeet cell phone and a $20 calling card, donated by Mom Central.Kajeet phones are designed for kids. If you don’t have kids of your own, you may still know one who would just love getting this phone as a surprise from you.

Booklogged wants you to imagine that you’re hosting a book group at your home to discuss one of the books you’ve read for the read-a-thon. What would you serve? Go check out the details!

The mini-challenge this hour is one I’ve been looking forward to. I have a slide show of authors, and whoever can name the most authors wins 3 books from the list (under the collage). There are 12 authors total. Hint: 11 of these photos have been posted in my blog before, and all 12 authors have been mentioned here. This mini-challenge ends at Hour 20. Who will still be awake then? I hope I will be!

This hour’s mini-challenge is to visit the Readers of the Hour again. Then post a blurb on your blog about what they’re up to. Then come here and leave me a comment letting me know you participated. I will draw the name of one participant, who will win a Future Book. I think we all know what that is by now, right? The drawing will be Hour 21.

This hour’s mini-challenge is going to connect us to 24 Hour Comics Day, which is what originally inspired me to host the read-a-thon. My husband is participating in that, and he offered way back when I thought of this to do a mini-challenge. The prize is his original comic, the one he’s been working on all day. I’d tell you what it’s about, but he isn’t quite sure yet. He doesn’t want you to spend any more than half an hour on this mini-challenge. Here are his instructions:My challenge to everyone (all of you, even those not reading or cheerleading or anything) is as follows:Write a quick, 3-panel comic either related to reading or related to comics. Simple as that. Related to reading is broad, and can encompass a biographical snippet of an author, ruminations on what it means to read, the language of language, anything. Related to comics is similarly broad, covering, as it does, the relationship between written language and thought as it relates to perceptions of time.

This hour’s mini-challenge is to find any two readers who are still up and reading, and to write a blurb in your blog about what they’re up to. The prize, which will be given to a random participant, is a Future Book. Don’t forget to leave a comment letting me know you participated! This mini-challenge is open until Hour 22.

This hour’s mini-challenge is to write a limerick or haiku about a character you read about today (if you’re a reader) or about any other aspect of the Read-a-thon (if you’re a cheerleader). I’ll draw a name from among participants who leave a comment here letting me know they’ve participated. According to Eva’s list, which she’s trying to keep up-to-date and accurate, there are only twelve potential competitors for this mini-challenge. The prize: 2 Bookmooch points, donated by Superfast Reader. If you have a Bookmooch account, Superfast Reader will give you one point for yourself and one to donate to aBookmooch charity. If you don’t have an account, if you send your address to me, I’ll forward it to Superfast Reader, and she can order you whatever Bookmooch book you want from the site, by putting your address into the Send To box, instead of her own. The drawing for this prize will be held when the Read-a-thon ends.

This hour’s mini-challenge is again to visit at least two of the (currently) 14 readers still up and then post in your blog about what they’re up to. This is the last mini-challenge of this type, though there is still one mini-challenge left to go! The drawing prize, again, is a Future Book. I just hope all the Future Book winners won’t fight over the same book. This mini-challenge is open to Cheerleaders, too, or anyone, really, and the drawing will be held at the end of the Read-a-thon.

This hour’s mini-challenge is to find images of the covers of all the books you’ve read, whether that’s one or ten, and post them in your blog. You can do that however you like; make a collage or list them or post a librarything widget or whatever you want. Be creative! I will draw the name of one participant in this mini-challenge and that person wins two Bookmooch points. If you have a bookmooch account, I’ll transfer them to you, and if you don’t, I’ll let you choose one of the Bookmooch charities to donate them to.

Here are some other Ideas that Dewey had last year:

You could ask them to post photos of themselves reading.

You could ask them to draw a picture having to do with the book they're reading and scan it in.

You could come up with some questions about how the read-a-thon is going for them so far and ask them to answer them in their next update.

You could ask them to find images of all the books they've read so far and post those.

You could ask them to list any problems they've encountered with trying to read uninterrupted.

Here are some other ideas:

Post about their favorite book as a child or teenager

Read a short story and post about it

A Meme at the beginning of the Read-a-thon that asks people about their goals and hopes; what books are they planning on reading, how long do they think they can stay up